Cold Tin Tub
by The Goliath Beetle
Summary: "Woe betide those who eat the Firelord's Flame-Cherry ice cream." *Maiko*


Cold Tin Tub

* * *

**A/N: I love you, ice cream.**

* * *

The new economic policy had made things a lot easier. Trade between the nations was being encouraged, which was all very good. It meant that the Fire Nation palace was one of the first houses in the country to own a cooler, specially made in the Water Tribe. Of course, months had passed since then.

With the coming of home cooling, arrived a host of products that were best eaten cold. Now where you had to go to the beach and buy expensive ice cream made with technology stolen from the Water Tribe, you could simply go to the nearest corner store, ask for a big double chocolate chip mousse family tub, bring it back to your house, and eat it whenever you wanted to.

This was a grand development. Especially since the Water Tribe enterpreneurs had specialized in unique Fire Nation flavours, with indegenious fruits and sweets. The three most popular ice creams were Firerose, Cinderblock, and Flame-Cherry.

The inhabitants of the royal palace had pounced on the ice creams immediately. They had quite a fancy cooler, and both the Lord and Lady-to-be possessed a sweet tooth uncharacteristic of their countrymen.

It was on a sweltering summer afternoon that the Firelord entered the royal kitchen, and stared in astonishment.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly, very quietly.

His fiance sat on the kitchen platform, her legs dangling off the edge. In one hand was a single long handled spoon, and on the granite surface beside her, was a tin tub with a pale pink something-something inside it. She raised an eyebrow, and smirked very slightly.

"Problem, Firelord?" Mai asked innocently, and put the spoon in her mouth. She let it linger there for a moment, before smoothly pulling it out. She somehow made the whole thing look very seductive.

But just for this moment, Zuko was beyond that. Woe betide those who eat the Firelord's Flame-Cherry ice cream.

"That's mine," he spoke carefully, taking one step towards her. "That's my ice cream."

"Really? How absolutely fascinating." She put another spoonful in her mouth. "Mmm...I love how it's sweet and firey at the same time."

He marched up now, and snatched the tub away from her. The tin's biting cold hurt his fingers but he ignored it. "Mine. All mine. Go get your own ice cream." He managed to make the dialogue sound threatening, which made Mai smirk some more.

"You did just hear what you said, didn't you, Zuko?" she teased cooly.

"Yes."

"You sound like a child."

"I don't care. The Flame-Cherry ice cream is mine. Your Cinderblock flavoured one is in the cooler. Just take that!"

Mai stared into Zuko's eyes, silently taunting him. "No," she declared, and snatched the tin from his hands. Their fingers brushed lightly. "This is better." Another spoonful. She made it look sexy. Again.

Her eyes never left his. The pretend innocence and amused smile made Zuko's blood boil. "Mai!" he snapped.

"Yes, Zuko?" she asked sweetly, taking one more spoonful.

"That's my ice cream!"

"That's nice," she patted him dismissively on the head. "Go play with your dolls now."

He glared at her. "Fine. I can be difficult too." And he grabbed another spoon, dug it into the tub, shovelled out a huge block of ice cream, and dumped it into his mouth.

...Then instantly got an ice cream headache.

"Spirits!" he swore. Except that his mouth was full, so it came out as, "Spff!"

There was nothing Mai could do but watch. There was nothing else she wanted to do, anyway. Her eyes travelled, highly amused, all over her spluttering fiance. The awkward fool. Agni, she loved him.

But she also liked watching him suffer like this, which was totally understandable.

After a minute or two of wincing, Zuko collected himself. "That wasn't very nice..." he muttered under his breath. A hand shot up to his head, but it wasn't his. And it wasn't even a gentle caress or anything.

Mai tapped him sharply on the head. "Zuko, if you want the ice cream, we can just share. Stop being so stupid."

He tried to protest. "I'm not being—"

Before he could finish the sentence, a cold, ice cream laden spoon shot right into his mouth. "That should shut you up for a bit," Mai declared as she held the handle of the spoon firmly.

"Mhhsghhhrr!"

"Yes, I love you too." The woman looked positively evil with that smirk she wore.

He snatched the spoon out of his mouth and kept it aside. The super hot-super-sweet taste of the ice cream caked his tongue. He gave her an unreadable look of defeat. Mai patted the space on the platform next to her. "Sit," she barked.

Obediently, the Firelord scrambled on and sat.

Next, she took the ice cream tub and put it between them. She handed him a spoon. "Now eat."

"I plan to," he huffed.

"Shut up, Zuko."

"Okay."

Mai took her spoon and dug into the ice cream. Zuko did the same. A few moments passed.

"This isn't so bad, actually," Zuko confessed in a small voice. "It's...sort of fun, sharing the ice cream with you."

"I know," Mai replied, masking happiness.

"I'm sorry."

"Ohh, you will be."

"How can I make it up to you?"

Silence.

Then, "I'll...let you know." A heavily laden innuendo.

Zuko's eyebrows shot up.

* * *

**A/N: Ice cream rules, and you know it.**


End file.
